Neoseeker : News : World of Warcraft loses 800,000 subscribers

World of Warcraft loses 800,000 subscribers

Sean Ridgeley - Wednesday, November 9, 2011 7:06am (PST) Like (1) +my favourites

Down the slippery slope

World of Warcraft has been steadily losing large amounts of subscribers over the past year, first 600,000 between late 2010 and early 2011, then 300,000 more following the release of Cataclysm this past July. Now, a massive 800,000 players have dropped their subs, most on this side of the world. As of September, the subscriber count sits at 10.3 million, down over last year's 12 million peak.

Blizzard is touting the popularity of the game in China and its still reigning championship as MMO king, but is finally saying they "know there are improvements [they] can make [to] in game content."

The company says it expects the Mists of Pandaria expansion to up subscription numbers, but at this point we wouldn't be surprised to see former players jump back in, play through the new content, then leave again, as happened with Cataclysm.

Source: Gamasutra

Section: PC Games

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2 thumbs! ^

Shadow of Death Nov 9, 11

It can't be on the top forever...Eventually I think, something new will replace it, something fresher rather than a game that just adds new expansions from time to time basically.

It's rather old, after all.

TBH, while it isn't the most important feature (and of MMOs in particular), WoW looks rather dated. A MMO that could be run relatively weak systems is all fine and dandy, but having one that can scale very well between that point and very high quality graphics could be a real contender.

That said, MMOs aren't really my thing, so I don't know what hardcore or casual fans really want.

0 thumbs! ^

Faust Nov 9, 11

It might be rather old, but it's really the very best mmo out there, even still. Mostly because they have had so many subscribers and such a large financial base that they've been able to update the game regularly, adding new and fresh content while upgrading old content constantly.

I've played just about every major mmo as well.

2 thumbs! ^

SPAZwazza Nov 9, 11

Everquest is pointing and laughing. "I used to be 'with it'. But then they changed what 'it' was! Now what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to YOOOUU." "No way, man, WoW is gonna keep rockin' forever! Forever.....forever..."

3 thumbs! ^

Amethyst Nov 9, 11

I honestly expect more people to drop even with Mists of Pandaria. I'm not nearly as hyped for it was I was Cataclysm. And a lot of people are just like, well, pandas... yeah.

1 thumbs! ^

Dunnyhf Nov 9, 11

Well after WotLK, the official story had ended and people stopped caring. The all the pins The Frozen Throne set up are knocked down and it's getting stale. Grinding and slaying does eventually get old when theres no end goal. Blizzard better start thinking beyond just dragons and pandas if it wants to keep this cash cow. I want to see a new Warcraft RTS or something.

2 thumbs! ^

Northern49 Nov 9, 11

This game should be in the sub 5 mil by now.

1 thumbs! ^

ChaosesFinest Nov 10, 11

Not a surpise, and I don't think many people are going to jump back on for a Panda exp...

0 thumbs! ^

Crafter Nov 10, 11

No king rules forever, my son.

Cataclysm was a joke, nothing but broken promises and half-assed content. It's a steady decline. BC was good, WotLK was ok, Cata was/is shit. Blizzard will be the sole cause for the end of WoW's reign.

Staff

0 thumbs! ^

RabidChinaGirl Nov 10, 11

I've been ready for Guild Wars 2 since... since 2007. Tried WoW for a few months during Burning Crusade and WotLK, but that didn't do much for me.

0 thumbs! ^

THM Nov 11, 11

I think that I'm one of 800,000

2 thumbs! ^

Shadow of Death Nov 11, 11

quote THM
I think that I'm one of 800,000

If you stopped paying for a subscription in that time period, than obviously >_>

0 thumbs! ^

Faust Nov 11, 11

quote RabidChinaGirl
I've been ready for Guild Wars 2 since... since 2007.

Tell me about it. :/

0 thumbs! ^

ChaosesFinest Nov 17, 11

quote Crafter
No king rules forever, my son.

Cataclysm was a joke, nothing but broken promises and half-assed content. It's a steady decline. BC was good, WotLK was ok, Cata was/is shit. Blizzard will be the sole cause for the end of WoW's reign.

True, but I acually like WotLK a bit. I havent even really played Cata.

0 thumbs! ^

Crafter Nov 18, 11

quote ChaosesFinest
quote Crafter
True, but I acually like WotLK a bit. I havent even really played Cata.

Ulduar was really good, but Trial of the Crusader was a joke and Icecrown Citadel was far too easy for final tier content. I didn't mind Naxx because I never got to it in vanilla but some of my guildmates were upset that they were doing pretty much the exact same encounters again.